OneThird, a startup dedicated to combating food waste, has secured a €1 million innovation credit from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
This funding is dedicated to advancing “quality control at scale” through a high-capacity version of its non-destructive spectral imaging technology. Currently, OneThird’s handheld scanning devices are utilized by growers and retailers for individual fruit assessment. However, this new financial backing will facilitate the creation of an automated inline system capable of efficiently scanning entire crates and trays in mere seconds.
At present, quality control in the fresh produce sector predominantly depends on manual sampling, where only a few pieces of fruit are inspected to represent the entire batch. This method often results in needless rejection of entire shipments or the premature disposal of perfectly good produce.
OneThird’s cutting-edge spectral imaging solution revolutionizes the process by eliminating the reliance on sampling and implementing comprehensive inspection instead. The system can scan a complete crate of strawberries or blueberries in just three seconds, evaluating internal qualities such as Brix (sugar content) and estimating shelf life without any physical contact or damage to the fruit.
“We have already demonstrated that non-destructive measurement at the fruit level delivers a proven improvement,” states Marco Snikkers, the company’s founder. “With this support, we can now deliver a solution at scale. In an inline application, it means only the specific punnets that fail to meet specifications are rejected, not the whole load.”
The shift to spectral imaging presents three significant benefits for the food industry:
- 20% Waste Reduction: Company simulations indicate that transitioning to complete batch imaging can cut waste by an average of 20% per batch by detecting “hidden” defects before they propagate.
- Accurate Shelf-Life Prediction: Typically, strawberries are assigned a generic five-day best-before date. OneThird’s technology can determine that one punnet might last three days while another may be viable for up to thirteen days. This capability enables retailers to optimize stock rotation and prevents unnecessary removal of fruit from store shelves.
- Objective Traceability: By digitizing quality assessments, growers and distributors gain a reliable, data-driven record of their produce. This enhancement strengthens their negotiating position with retailers and significantly boosts the acceptance rate of shipments.
The innovation credit will propel the development of an inline system that aims to be market-ready for strawberries and blueberries by 2027, with future plans to include other high-value crops shortly thereafter.
As the global food sector increasingly faces pressure to achieve sustainability goals, OneThird’s investment in spectral imaging serves as a crucial tool to address the estimated 40% of fresh produce that never reaches consumers’ tables.
